My ancestors, they hail from . . . the redlands of Texas . . . and the marshes of Maine . . . the plantations of Georgia . . . and the courts of Spain . . . and from a hodgepodge of places . . . betwixt and between . . .

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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

1864 :: Our Joseph survives the Battle of the Wilderness

On this date in our family history . . . the 6th day of May . . . in the year 1864 . . . Private Jos. H. Nettles is a member of Hood's Texas Brigade as they fight at the Battle of the Wilderness alongside Confederate General Robert E. Lee (who is a 4th cousin six times removed to the Keeper of this family history blog) . . .

Nettles is reported as wounded in the leg on this date, while a very large number of fellow Texans lose their lives . . . this Joseph Helidorah Nettles (1832-1890) is a 2nd great-grandpa of the Keeper of this blog . . .

Hood's Texas Brigade rallies around General Lee. May 06, 1864. On this day in 1864, in one of the most moving incidents of the Civil War, Confederate general Robert E. Lee ordered the celebrated Hood's Texas Brigade to the front, and they in turn ordered him to the rear. During a critical moment of the fierce Battle of the Wilderness, as the Southern battle line was crumbling, Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, was heartened to see the Texas Brigade, under the command of John Gregg, arrive on the field as reinforcements. With a cry of "Hurrah for Texas!" Lee ordered them forward against the Union army and, carried away by his enthusiasm, began to lead them into the charge. The Texans, unwilling to risk their idol in battle, stopped and gathered around him, yelling "Lee to the rear!" and held onto his horse until he withdrew. The Texas Brigade suffered severe losses, but the Union army was once more fought to a standstill.